


In Search of Allies

by DesertVixen



Category: She-Ra: Princess Of Power (1985)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21845173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: Adora sets out to find more allies for the Great Rebellion...
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	In Search of Allies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cartesiandaemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cartesiandaemon/gifts).



Adora never knew just what she was going to find in the ongoing search for more allies for the Great Rebellion. 

Etheria was a patchwork of tiny kingdoms and nations, and many of them had conflicts with each other. She reflected that these conflicts might be why Hordak had found it so easy to conquer Etheria. By the time any of the rulers had realized they were in danger, it was too late. It did not help that the bar to what was considered a kingdom by Etheria’s standards was pretty low. Some of them didn’t even take a whole day to travel across. 

Bold leaders like Queen Angella of Bright Moon had tried to stand up to the Horde, and paid the price for failure. 

And so the Horde had come to rule over Etheria. For most of Adora’s life, there had been no real challenge to their power. Rebel forces loyal to Queen Angella had tried to break their chains, but their efforts rarely achieved more than petty defiance – and the Horde ensured that people paid a heavy price for petty defiance. 

Force Captain Adora had been raised by the Horde and had grown up believing that their rule was necessary and good. It was not until she began having strange dreams about an enchanted sword that she had any doubts.

Then she had discovered the truth when she met her brother in a Horde prison. Hordak had stolen her from her parents as a baby. Shadow Weaver had brainwashed her with dark magic, and Hordak had used her for his evil plans. 

Her brother Adam had come to Etheria to search for her, although he had not known exactly who he was looking for. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull had sent him with the enchanted sword in Adora’s dreams, and told him to find the owner. It had taken all the power in the sword to help Adora break Shadow Weaver’s spells and trust her heart.

Adora had learned that, like Adam, she had a special destiny and special powers. The enchanted sword – the Sword of Protection – allowed her to transform into She-Ra, giving her superhuman strength. 

Adora had returned to Eternia, to meet the parents she didn’t remember. Much to their dismay, however, Adora knew she could not abandon Etheria. She felt she had a responsibility to protect the people whom she had unwittingly harmed. She had a debt to pay to the people of Etheria. Adora – and She-Ra – would fight alongside the Great Rebellion until Hordak was finally defeated.

Part of the payment for that debt involved trying to unite the people of Etheria. She wasn’t foolish enough to think they could unite the entire planet – not everyone had suffered under the Horde’s rule, and some kingdoms were allied with the Horde – but she knew there were plenty of people who just needed to be convinced.

As she and Spirit made their way to the tiny mountain kingdom of Andea, she pondered what it would take to convince its people to join the Rebellion. Andea had been settled by outcasts from Mystacor, which was currently part of the Rebellion. Her friend Castaspella was queen there, but she had been unable to tell her much about the Andeans, as the two kingdoms did not have good relations. Castaspella had heard rumors that they practiced magic, but no one who had gone to Andea had ever returned.

Adora intended to change that.

*** 

Adora had learned that everyone on Etheria wanted different things.

Some people were impressed by the Force Captain who had defected from the Horde, while others clamored to meet Adora’s “friend” She-Ra. Adora was always a little surprised that no one connected the dots about how she and She-Ra were never seen in the same place, but so far her secret was safe. At least she didn’t have to pretend to be lazy and indulgent, like her poor brother Adam did to deflect attention away from herself. 

Some kingdoms had practical requests, such the kingdom of Rusalki needing a dam to keep the Horde from constantly flooding them out. That had been an easy enough task for She-Ra and Swift Wind to accomplish, and in return the Rusalkans kept the Horde units in their area very busy.

Then there were the interesting ones, like the city that required all visitors to speak in rhyme. That one had given her a headache for a few days.

It was a hard ride up a steep path, but finally Adora reached the gates of a mighty fortress. She noted the guards in the tower with approval and announced herself. When the gates opened, she was met by a young woman in white.

“Our queen Ariadne sends her greetings to Adora, and thanks you for making the long journey through the mountains. However, it is our custom that all outsiders must prove their worth in a contest of wits,” the woman told her. “Will you prove your worth?”

It was a pretty long trip to make and have nothing to show for it, Adora decided. “What sort of contest?”

The woman snapped her fingers, and walls began to rise around them. In less than a minute, she was surrounded by walls too tall to see over. “If you can make your way through the maze to the palace before nightfall, Queen Ariadne will meet with you. If not, you must leave.” 

She snapped her fingers again, and vanished.

Adora decided that no matter what else happened, the question of whether the Andeans used magic had been answered.

***

The maze seemed simple enough, but Adora soon found that there was plenty to keep her on her toes – a few pits hidden in dead ends, and passages that turned her around in a circle. She was prepared for animals or monsters, but as near as she could tell, she was the only living thing in the maze. She could just barely see the twin towers of the palace over the walls, and knew that as long as she kept moving toward the tower, she would be fine.

Adora had been in the maze for an hour when she realized her mistake. She had assumed that the palace was outside the maze, that the maze led to the palace. Adora had traveled around the entire maze and come back to where she had started. 

The palace had to be located inside the maze. Once she realized that fact, the maze was much simpler, and Adora found herself in a beautiful garden surrounding the palace. The perfume of the flowers was inviting – too inviting, Adora realized, and kept her feet firmly on the gravel path. 

Finally, she stood at the doors of the palace. She was amused to see them open for her – and slightly less amused to see the same young woman standing there to greet her. “Queen Ariadne, I presume.”

Ariadne had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “Adora, you have proven yourself worthy in the maze, and by avoiding the flowers in the Garden of Ever Rest, and by guessing my identity. How may Andea assist the Great Rebellion?”

“I don’t suppose you could build your maze around Hordak’s castle?” Adora said lightly. “We might never have to worry about them again.”

Ariadne smiled. “Unfortunately the maze spell only works here in Andea. Most of our spells involve illusions, but that one is quite solid. We must discuss the matter further over dinner.”

Adora could vouch for the solidness of the maze, having run into a few of its walls. Illusions, however, could be very useful against the Horde. “As long as dinner doesn’t involve any illusions.”

Ariadne laughed. “I can promise you that.”

Adora smiled. It looked like Andea would be another ally for the forces of good on Eternia.

It had been worth the trip.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! I was trying to use the part of your prompt where you said you enjoyed games.


End file.
